My mum and I used to love watching talent shows when I was younger. A vivid memory I have is of one when I was 9 and I saw a girl who wasn't much older than me singing on "X Factor", she had a style I really liked, my curious eyes were partiularly drawn to her edgy hair which had blue and pink highlights in it, after telling my mum how much I loved her hair we came to the exciting conclusion that I'd get blue and pink braids during the holidays. The holidays came and my mum kept her word, I was convinced I was the coolest, prettiest 9 year old to ever exist with my vibrant new hair. Unfortunately, the feelings of excitement gave way to feelings of regret when I'd gone for a walk with my mum and we passed by a group of random girls who had some unkind words to say about my appearance. I remember all of this because it was the first time I truly understood the concept of judgment and how unfair, unpredicatble and uncontrollable it is. It was then that I realized a s...
Similar to most people, my teenage years were scary and confusing. Which is understandable considering how pretty much everything changes. School gets harder, people become meaner, voices deepen, hair grows, feelings erupt, boys become people to fear and girls become people to envy, while once loyal childhood friends become intimidating strangers. It was all very chaotic, but to add onto all of the chaos and teenage angst, unlike my other female peers whose teenage years seemed to lovingly welcome them with wider hips and first kisses, my hostile introduction to adolescence consisted of an unwelcome growth spurt and severe acne. The height is something I grew to (pun very much intended) quite like about myself, but the acne I have immensely struggled with. And having recently turned 20, it's something I would have expected to have learnt to cope with by now, but I'm not quite there yet. Due to having acne and struggling with my general appearance I've become socially anxiou...